"Walter the Whale with Wings"

“I want to make the world a better place than it was when I entered it. I hope I can, even on the smallest levels.” - Edward Lahti

A few weeks ago, mommy read about a man, a poet from Lansing who wrote a book about a whale. The story is really quite remarkable. Well, the poet had cancer and his friends wanted to see his dream of his book becoming published and made into a movie become a reality on his behalf. His friends started a "collection" through a website called Kickstart. His friends earned enough money to actually make the dream of their dying friend come true. So we donated an amount of money to the project because it struck a cord in my heart. I decided instead of buying a couple "yummy" coffees at the store and going to breakfast on Sunday School mornings; we could do without them and give that money saved to this project. This selfless project which is now in memory of a friend, is worth not going to breakfast or having a coffee... I hope you one day want to invest in something that makes a small difference in the world. I hope you come across something that makes your heart strings pluck over and over until you say, "I will help." Sometimes helping is about sharing information, donating funds, giving your time...  Thursday the man battling cancer who wrote the Whale book passed on to be with Jesus. He went to Heaven where he can watch his friends do good works on his behalf... he can watch them without pain anymore.

There's a lesson to be learned in this... the lesson while there are many that can be concluded from the acts of kindness of his friends to not waiting til it's too late to make dreams happen. I hope you have a friend who you would go to extraordinary lengths for one day. I hope that friendships encircle your life and allow you to experience forever in a way that can only be preserved in a friendship. I also hope that you make the world a better place even in the smallest way as Edward Lahti, the man who won in life with friendships that love him unconditionally, had and will continue to do through inspiring acts of kindness for others.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20130201/NEWS01/302010054/Lansing-poet-author-loses-battle-cancer

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013301240051

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Walter-the-Whale-with-Wings/61882681759

 http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013301180063